Blanqite



P. w; DRUITT AND w. R.'GILPIN.

KEYBOARD MECHANISM OF TYPOGRAPHIC COMPOSING AND CASTING MACHINES.

APPLICATION FILED Nov. 20. 19115 1,325,397. Patented Dec. 16, 1919.

UNrrn snares ?Aii PERCY WALTER DRUITT AND WILLIAM ROBERT GILPIN, OF LONDON, ENGLAND,

ASSIGNORS TO EDW'ARD HERON ALLEN AND ARTHUR FRANK DE FON- BLANQUE, or LONDON, ENGLAND.

KEYBOARD MECHANIS1VI OF TYPOGRAPHIC COMPOSING'AND CASTING MACHINES.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented. Dec. 16, 1919.

Application filed. November 20, 1917. Serial No. 203,015.

To all whom it may concern Be it known that we, PERCY WALTER Dnurr'r and WILLIAM ROBERT GILPIN, both subjects of the King of Great Britain, residing in London, England, have jointly invented certain new and useful Improvements in Keyboard Mechanism of Typographic Composing and Casting Machines, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to that class of keyboard mechanism of typographic composing machines which is described for example in British patent specifications Nos. 24,603 of 1894, 3585 of 1907 and 11,870 of 1913, and is adapted to operate the rods employed for efiecting the release of matrices from matrix containing magazines, the motions of the finger keys being transmitted to matrix releasing rods through the agency of a power driven mechanism consisting of two banks of rising and falling pivoted camoperated levers each cam lever carrying a cam and associated with a releasing dog and a continuously-rotating rubber roller capable of imparting motion to the cam lever when the respective releasing dog is actuated by depressing a finger key. In the machines as heretofore constructed and provided with the above kind of keyboard mechanism, in order to provide the cam carried by a cam lever with a workable width, the two banks of cam levers, of which there is one to each finger key, are arranged one in front and one tothe rear of the matrix releasing rods, each bank having its own continuously rotating roller and operating mechanism. V

The present invention consists in improvements, the object being to provide a construction whereby such mechanism is simplified, made more accessible and the removal of the cam levers facilitated. With these objects, the two banks of groups of cam 1evers are, according to this invention, all dispatent specification No. 11,87 0 of 1913, having the improved mechanism applied.

In the drawing, the finger-keys are denoted by a and the cam levers by Z). The tiers or groups of cam levers are, in accordance with the invention, mounted one above the'other in front of the matrix releasing rods 0, in a position easily accessible to the operator. A single rubber covered continuously-rotating roller d mounted between the two tiers of cam levers 6 serves to drive cams e e belonging to the two tiers. In the upper tier the cam levers b are mounted in the usual manner, their fulcra being at the outer ends 72 and the cams e rotatably mounted on pivots f situated about midway between the fulcra and the matrix releasing rods 0 which are supported upon the inner ends 6 of the cam levers constituting the upper tier.

The inner end of each cam lever in the upper tier is supported, in the usual manner, in a raised position as indicated in the drawing, upon a dog 9 which, upon being actuated by the corresponding finger key a, and cooperating rods 72, allows the cam lever to fall by gravity until the cam moves clear of the. detent stop a and comes into contact with the rotating roller cl, the consequent revolution of the cam efiecting the upward movement of the cam lever and with it the associated matrix releasing rod. The cam levers in the upper tier are all pivoted in known manner upon a single fulcrum rod 2', the pivot end 6 of each lever being hook shaped, the hook being held in position on the fulcrum rod by means of a strip or keep plate j fitted into a slot in the slotted casting or comb k which provides the spacing means for the levers; the inner side of the strip abutting against the round ed hook ends of the cam levers. The removal of any one of the cam levers can be effected independently by removing the strip j, and then drawing the cam lever outwardly until its hook clears the fulcrumrod c', and then moving it upwardly. The strip may be conveniently held in position by means of a plate spring mounted on the piece is and adapted to bear upon each end, but it may be secured in other ways.

The lower tier of cam levers b. is staggored relatively to the upper tier, the ma trix releasing rods 0 belonging to the former being extended downwardly between the ends of the latter, and, while the cams c of the upper tie-r engage with the top of the roller (Z the cams c of the lower tier engage with the front side of the roller. A cam lever belonging to this tier may be of the bell-crank type having substantially vertical and horizontal arms, the fulcrum lying between the cam e and the corresponding matrix releasing rod 0, the Cam 6 being mounted at the end 6 of the vertical arm directly above the fulcrum. The horizontal arm of the lever is supported normally at its inner end Z) upon a releasing dog 9 and is suitably weighted so that upon the actuation of the dog by a fingerkey a and rod h, the horizontal arm of the lever will fall and bring its vertical arm clear of the detent stop 0 and its earn 6 into contact with the rotating roller (Z. The consequent revolution of the cam effects the movements -of the matrix releasing rod as before.

The cam levers 7) in the lower tier are also pivoted upon a single fulcrum wire or red Z which may be mounted upon a slotted casting or comb m, the teeth of which serve to properly space the cam levers. The fulcrum of each lever in the lower tier consists of a slot 6 inclined in such a manner that the weight of the lever and also the pressure due to the drive of the cam 6 tends to keep the end of the slot in firm engagement with the fulcrmn wire Z, thus dispensing in this case with a strip or keep plate. Any one lever of the lower tier can be removed individually by simply lifting the lever until the slot is out of engagement with the ful crum wire Z.

The cam levers are packed closely together in each tier with just sufficient working clearance, and the cams c e are made as wide as possible, consistent with a suitable thickness of the walls of the lever b containing or carrying them, so that the working width of the cam is as great as heretofore.

Further, as the top and bottom levers are staggered relatively and as the width of each cam is preferably about one half of the pitch of the levers, the wear on the rotating roller (l due to the driving of the cams is equally distributed throughout its length, the working surface of the single roller used according to this invention being equal to that of both. of the rollers used heretofore.

Having thus described the nature of the said invention and the best means we know of carrying the same into practical effect, we claim 1. In keyboard mechanism of the kind referred to, the combination of matrix releasing rods, a plurality of fulcrum rods, a

plurality of groups of pivoted levers removably mounted on the fulcrum rods and arranged in groups in front of the releasing rods, a cam revolubly mounted on each lever, corresponding groups of releasing dogs located in rear of the fulcrum rods and asso ciated with the releasing rods and levers, means for actuating the releasing dogs, continuously operating means adapted to revolve the cams and thereby impart movement to the levers, said latter means interposed between the fulcrum rods and the groups of releasing dogs.

2. In a typographic composing machine, the combination with a matrix-containing magazine and mechanism for releasing matrices therefrom, of a keyboard mechanism comprising a plurality of finger-key bars pivoted at the front part of the machine, a set of key rods adapted to be actuated by the movement of the rear ends of the key bars, a second set of key rods alternating with the other key rods and similarly actu-' ated, an upper and a lower series of pivot ally mounted two-arm releasing dogs, one arm of each dog engaging one of the key rods, in the first and second series respectively, and an upper and lower fulcrum rod disposed in front of the dogs, an upper and a lower bank of cam levers removably pivoted on the respective fulcrum rods, a cam revolubly mounted on each lever, continuously operating means adapted to drive the cams and operate the levers, said means being located between the upper and lower banks of levers and in rear of the fulcrum rods, the terminal portions of the cam levers in rear of the latter rods being arranged to engage the other arms of the upper and lower series of dogs and two sets of rods respeetively correlated with the rear ends of the two banks of levers for operatively connecting them with the matrix releasing mechanism.

3. In a typographic composing machine, the combination with. a matrix containing u'iagazine and mechanism for releasing matrices therefrom. of a keyboard mechanism comprising a plurality of finger key bars pivoted at the front part of the machine, a set of key rods adapted to be actuated by the movements of the rear ends of the key bars, a second set of key rods alternating with the other key rods and imilarly actuated, an upper and a lower series of pivotally mounted two-arm releasing dogs, one arm of each dog engaging one of the key rods in the first and second series respectively, and an upper and a lower fulcrum rod disposed in front of the dogs, an upper and a lower bank of cam levers removably pivoted on the respective fulcrum rods, cam revolubly mounted on each lever and adapted to engage a single continuously rotated roller located between the upper and lower banks of levers and in rear of the fulcrum rods, the terminal portions of the 011-111 levers in rear of the latter rods being arranged to engage the other arms of the upper and lower series of dogs and two sets of rods respectively correlated with the rear ends of the two banks of levers for operatively connecting them with the matrix releasing mechanism.

In testimony whereof we have signed our names to this specification in the presence of two subscribing wltnesses.

PERCY WALTER DRUITT. WILLIAM ROBERT GILPIN.

Witnesses:

C. S. HOPKINS, W. J. SKERTEN. 

